POLITICAL SITES SPINNING WEB TO CAPTURE VOTERS

In the Dark Ages of the Internet, say 1996, politicians with e-mail addresses or Web sites were hip. Cutting edge, even.

But most politicians' Web sites consisted of nothing more than a photograph of the candidate and family, a few position statements and a traditional way to contact the campaign -- like a telephone number or snail-mail address.

The Web sites of political parties and other organizations weren't much better.

Jump to 2000. Political Web sites, like their retail counterparts, have gotten more sophisticated and now offer a slew of information and features.

Today, it is easy to find out what a candidate thinks about abortion or how she voted on tax cuts. It's just as easy to contribute money online or even pose substantive questions directly to candidates or their staff.

And some states, including Florida, are studying the possibility of one day allowing people to vote from computers at poll sites or at home.

"The Internet is the most amazing avenue of communication," said Democrat Jean Elliott Brown, who is running against U.S. Rep. Mark Foley, R-West Palm Beach.

Brown has an e-mail list of more than 2,700 people to whom she sends campaign updates. She has raised $90,000 of her $250,000 in contributions through the Internet.

In his run for the governor's office in 1998, Jeb Bush used cyberspace to successfully inform and mobilize supporters.

Nationally, Bill Bradley, a Democratic presidential candidate, had raised more than $1 million through his Web site by the end of November.

And it's not just candidates taking advantage of the Internet for political purposes. Political parties, special interest groups from the left and the right, the media and nonprofit organizations all are putting up megabytes of information on the Internet.

Can't get to a New Hampshire town hall meeting to hear one of the presidential candidates discussing Social Security?

Don't fret. At www.freedomchannel.com, you can see and hear Republican John McCain and Democratic Vice President Al Gore explain how they would save the retirement program.

Need to know how your congressional representative voted on gun control? Go to Thomas, Congress' site at http://thomas.loc.gov/ You'll find votes, text of legislation and Web sites for all the members.

Want more about a candidate's stand on an issue than you can get from this newspaper or a television commercial? At www.dnet.org, a site sponsored by the League of Women Voters and the Democracy Network, voters soon will be able to find answers from candidates at every level on the critical issues in their races.

John Howland, project manager for the Democracy Network, said the goal is to provide people with information that comes directly from the candidates, unfiltered by the media.

"It's a great chance to get more than the 10-second sound bite," Howland said.

Howland acknowledged the site mostly attracts people who already are involved and likely to vote. But as more people get connected to the Internet, he said, the site could help young people and other traditional nonvoters get involved in the political system.

The Democracy Network's system was tried out last year in the Plantation City Council races, as candidates answered questions online about annexation, maintaining neighborhoods and other issues.

John Garon, who ran for one of the City Council seats and lost, said he enjoyed being able to give in-depth answers about important issues. But he doesn't think the Internet has reached its potential as a political medium.

"Not one person ever told me they ever looked at it," he said.

Michael Cornfield, a political science professor at George Washington University who is studying Internet politics, is not surprised.

"The only thing that can get people interested in politics is politics itself," Cornfield said.

Cornfield is the research director for the Democracy Online Project. Funded by the Pew Charitable Trusts, the group is studying how online politics can be successful and what its impact will be on American democracy.

Cornfield said the people most likely to use online political sites are those who are already registered to vote and likely to exercise the franchise. They also are either involved in politics or are devoted junkies of political television shows and magazines. He does not think the Internet will draw the apathetic masses into paying attention to politics.

Instead, the Internet is great for turning people who are already interested in politics into activists for a cause or a candidate. E-mail is the key because it allows candidates and organizations to communicate with many people inexpensively and quickly, Cornfield said. It also is easier for people to respond. Typing a credit card number and clicking a mouse in order to make a political contribution is easier than writing a check, addressing an envelope and putting it in the mail.

In a few years, though, politics on the Internet will not seem all that novel because it will become part of the fabric of life, Cornfield said.

"In five to 10 years we will move from online to offline to online and back again," he said. "Right now we're all thinking about it because we're not used to it."

Rafael Lorente can be reached at rlorente@sun-sentinel.com or 202-824-8225 in Washington.